I'm sure you are all familiar with Robert McCloskey's Make Way for Ducklings and the role the swan boats have in Mr. and Mrs. Mallard deciding to take up residence in the Public Garden. McCloskey's book is how I first learned of the swan boats.
I read the news of the 2014 opening and this poem demanded to be written! Please note: this poem is not for a Make Way for Ducklings intended audience!
This week, Tabatha Yeatts is hosting the Round-Up at The Opposite of Indifference. You don't want to miss it!
nice and 'touristy' in Tobago its glass-bottom boats used for visiting
ReplyDeletethe Bucco Reef
the engine hushed -
the sashay of different
kinds of fish tails
viewers awed to speech defects
intone their oohs! and aahs!
have a nice Weekend
much love
Thanks for the poem, Gillena!
DeleteI put T & T on my bucket list.
Love the contrast you've drawn between the moneyed ladies and the workers with muscled calves and glistening sweat.
ReplyDeleteI know that in the early 1900s, ladies often traveled together. I imagined a small group of ladies, without a male escort, may have found their way to the swan boats!
DeleteA difftrent view of those boats - but just as graceful, in its own way.
ReplyDeleteI rode on the swan boats once, and the only memory I have of the brief trip is of the calves of the guy pedaling the boat. Unforgettable!
DeleteThanks for the laugh! Scandalous "ladies" -- INDEED! ;-)
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Keri!
DeleteFrom my Boston days, I remember seeing these boats often. Never did get around to taking a ride though... clearly, I didn't realize what I was missing.
ReplyDeleteMaybe some day you'll make the trip north again!
Deleteah, you've brought me back to the Common! Boston/Cambridge is my spiritual home. Love the swan boat poem. I have one about the swan boats in my files somewhere too. THank you!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see it!
DeleteUsed to ride the boats every year as a kid. Never did think to turn around and check the power source.
ReplyDeleteI remember how hard it was pedaling a little 2-seater boat on Harvey Lake in Northwood. The thought of pedaling a half-dozen or more people boggles my mind.
DeleteI rode the swan boats with my students, quite a wonderful ride, and wish I had had your poem to imagine older times, Diane. Love the contrasting cultures.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda!
DeleteI can see them now! Superb way of describing them, Diane - although I think you display a but more of an appreciation for the physique of the drivers than I do!
ReplyDeletePossibly, Matt...
DeleteOh this ladies of privilege! (I love how you complete the package by adding your poems to the photos.)
ReplyDeleteOops, I meant Oh those ladies of privilege...
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, Violet, but I read your oops exactly the way you meant to write it! A big part of reading is the expectation.
DeleteWhat a contrast!
ReplyDeleteNow as then, we seem to be a society of great contrasts.
DeleteSo THOSE are the sights they take in! Nice poem!
ReplyDeleteTruly, they were amazing.
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